The Nigerian federal government is seeking a $500 million loan from the World Bank to fix rural roads, improve access to agricultural products nationwide, and tackle food price hikes.
The Washington-based lender stated that the funds will address the needs of 92 million people in rural areas lacking good road networks.
The Nigerian government made the funding request in the final draft of the Resettlement Policy Framework for the Nigeria Rural Access and Agricultural Marketing Project Scale-Up, implemented by the Federal Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development.
The RAAMP-SU project will finance three key components: Improvement of Resilient Rural Access ($387 million), Climate-Resilient Asset Management ($158 million), and Institutional Strengthening and Project Management ($55 million).
The total cost of the project is estimated at $600 million, with the World Bank expected to provide 83.33% of the required funding. This commitment amount is 79% higher than the initial World Bank commitment of $280 million for the parent project.
According to the policy document, participating states will be required to have a fully functional Roads Fund and Roads Agency with appointed boards and staff, and provisions for administrative costs in the state budget.
“Rural access is particularly restricted in areas densely populated by the economically disadvantaged. These factors underscore the imperative to expand and enhance the rural road network, as well as conserve rural road and transport assets.
“While eligibility for state participation under RAAMP required the drafting and placement of Road Fund and Roads Agency bills in the State Houses of Assembly, the new project would require the States to have a fully functional Roads Fund and Roads Agency with appointed boards and staff, and provision for administrative costs made in the state budget. Additionally, RARAs offer an opportunity to foster women’s representation in the transport sector,” the document noted.
The development comes as food inflation continues to rise in Nigeria. In April 2024, the National Bureau of Statistics reported Nigeria’s food inflation rose to 40.53%.
Experts have blamed insecurity, energy costs, and the high cost of transportation for food price hikes in Nigeria.
Meanwhile, the total debt stock of Nigeria at the end of 2023 stood at N97.341 trillion, according to the Debt Management Office.
Nigeria’s debt figure included foreign debt, which stood at N38.22 trillion, accounting for 39% of the total debt stocks as of the end of 2023.
The Federal Government has dropped tax evasion charges against two executives of Binance, the world’s largest cryptocurrency exchange.
Tigran Gambaryan, a US citizen and Binance’s head of financial crimes compliance, and Nadeem Anjarwalla, a British-Kenyan national and regional manager for Africa, were both released from the charges after Binance appointed a local representative to face court proceedings on its behalf.
The charges were filed in February, with Gambaryan being taken into custody and Anjarwalla escaping Nigeria in March.
The Nigerian Federal Inland Revenue Service (FIRS) had accused Binance and its executives of evading taxes on cryptocurrency transactions worth millions of dollars.
FIRS on May 17 amended the charges, alleging that the cryptocurrency exchange company failed to collect and remit various categories of taxes, particularly the Value Added Tax (VAT) and Company Income tax (CIT), to the Nigeria’s federation account as provided by Section 40 of the FIRS Establishment Act, 2007.
Minister of Information, Idris Mohammed, had claimed that Binance made a turnover of over $20 billion in Nigeria in 2023 alone.
However, Binance maintained that it had done nothing wrong and that the charges were unfounded.
According to a Binance spokesperson, the court’s decision to drop the charges against Gambaryan and Anjarwalla is a vindication of the company’s stance.
“We are pleased that the court has recognized that Tigran Gambaryan is not a decision-maker at Binance and does not need to be held in order for Binance to resolve issues with the Nigerian government,” the spokesperson said. “We await the court’s ruling on this, discharging Tigran from this matter completely.”
Despite the dropped charges, Binance and its executives still face separate money laundering charges in Nigeria.
The company has denied these allegations as well, stating that it has robust anti-money laundering measures in place.
The fedeal government has been critical of Binance, blaming it for exacerbating the country’s currency woes by allowing Nigerians to trade the naira on its platform.
The government claims that this has contributed to chronic dollar shortages and a record low for the naira.
The Inspector General of Police, IGP Olukayode Egbetokun, has announced the suspension of special promotion of certain officers within the police force.
Naija News understands that Egbetokun’s decision comes as a result of concerns that these promotions are jeopardizing the work of officers.
The IGP expressed his frustration with the excessive lobbying for special promotions and stated that any recommendations for such promotions would now be met with disciplinary action.
Moving forward, Egbetokun noted that the police management will handle any cases where special promotions are deemed necessary.
Additionally, the undue soliciting for posting has been banned, with a warning that those found guilty will face legal consequences.
On a positive note, 27 senior police officers have been recently promoted to new ranks and were decorated by the IGP.
This includes one Deputy Inspector-General of Police, 11 Assistant Inspectors-General of Police, and 15 Commissioners of Police.
Notable among them is DIG Yayaha Abubakar, a lawyer from Adamawa State, who previously served as the AIG Zone 14.
The newly promoted AIGs also include Mohammad Badeh, a former Commissioner of Police in charge of Safer Highway from Niger State, Ahmed Armani from Katsina State with a master’s degree in law enforcement and experience at the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), and Mohammed Hussain from Jigawa State, who was the Commissioner of Police in charge of Kano State Police Command prior to his promotion.
Two former governorship aspirants of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), Philip Shaibu and Omoregbe Ogbeide-Ihama, have collapsed their political structures for the candidate of the All Progressives Congress (APC), ahead of the September 21 governorship election in Edo state.
Naija News recalls that Shaibu, the impeached Deputy Governor of the state and Ogbeide-Ihama had contested for the PDP ticket but lost to Asue Ighodalo.
According to Daily Trust, Shaibu and Ogbeide-Ihama made also donated on Friday to the campaign council of the APC governorship candidate, Senator Monday Okpebholo.
Shaibu donated over 50 Toyota Sienna buses, music trucks, and his campaign secretariat office to the APC’s Okpebholo/DENCO Campaign Organization, while Ogbeide-Ihama, a former two-time member of the House of Representatives, donated a fully equipped campaign office.
Both properties, located in the heart of Benin City, serve as a vital hub for coordinating the APC’s campaign activities and engaging with the electorate.
The Director of the APC New Media Campaign Committee, Osigwe Omo-Ikirodah, confirmed the donations on Friday, stating that the donations would have a greater impact on the political landscape.
According to him, the development marks a pivotal moment in Edo politics, reflecting the growing momentum behind the APC and its agenda for progress and development.
He said, “Shaibu and Ogbeide-Ihama’s support for the APC is likely to galvanize other PDP members to reconsider their positions, potentially leading to increased support for our party.
“As the PDP grapples with these significant contributions to the APC, we are solidifying our position and building unprecedented momentum.”
Nollywood actor cum pastor, Yul Edochie, has resumed his online ministry following a short break.
Yul explained that he took a break to spiritually prepare himself for God’s work, during which time God revealed many things to him.
He emphasized that relying on religion alone for salvation is insufficient and that simply praying is not enough.
Extending an invitation to his followers for a live YouTube and TikTok broadcast, he assured them of an “explosive” session where he would unveil secrets and impart wisdom on protecting oneself from evil forces.
“Religion will not save us. Prayer is not enough. That is why we have thousands of churches springing up every day, yet evil persists. I took a break from my ministry so I could prepare myself spiritually for God’s work. During that time, God took me on a journey and revealed so much to me.
“Don’t miss our live broadcast this Sunday.I will expose many secrets and teach you how you can protect yourself from the evil plans of the devil, which are spreading rapidly. Streaming live on YouTube on Yul Edochie TV and TikTok @yuledochieodogwu. Don’t miss it. It will be explosive,” Yul wrote.
President Ahmed Bola Tinubu should adopt measures to divide Nigeria into six geo-political zones with elements of regional autonomy to ensure equity and true federalism.
A human rights lawyer and Chairman of the Labour Party in Enugu West Senatorial Zone of Enugu State, Barr Nnadume Offorkansi, stated this in an interview in Enugu on Friday. He said Nigerians expect President Tinubu to champion the restructuring of Nigeria, having been in its forefront during the military era under the auspices of the National Democratic Coalition, NADECO.
Offorkansi however said there were some policies of the Tinubu administration already tilting towards restructuring Nigeria.
According to him, “The message in the old national anthem implies return to regionalism. There is a bill in the National Assembly for circling herders in their abodes. The current suit between the federal government and the states seeking the possibility of direct funding of local governments in Nigeria is another restructuring. The relocation of a key unit of the Central Bank of Nigeria from Abuja to Lagos is restructuring. We expect an end to states conducting elections into various LGAs when the LG autonomy is achieved.”
He advised Tinubu to create regions not based on the old ones because “there are already mistrusts in most of them”, adding that going back to regional structures would save Nigeria from its current conundrum.
Abuchi Anueyiagu, a public affairs analyst, also advised Tinubu to implement the report of the National Confab organized by former President Goodluck Jonathan.
According to him, the report, if implemented, would restructure Nigeria, and regretted that Jonathan’s re-election bid was behind his failure to implement it. He added that the confab report would have solved most of Nigeria’s political and economic problems.
Quoting him, “Restructuring will end various agitations for secession because it will grant the regions the autonomy to grow at their respective pace. Tinubu clamoured for it during the Jonathan administration.
“He is, therefore, expected to live by what he has been clamouring as an activist. He will endear himself to Nigerians, and he should avoid the mistake of waiting for his second tenure, which former President Jonathan made.”
![[STATE HOUSE PRESS RELEASE] President Tinubu to Observe Eid-el-Kabir in Lagos](/media/k2/items/cache/1ea7f05447c21bd829fca89d6a8adf83_S.jpg)
President Bola Tinubu will depart Abuja, the nation's capital, for Lagos State on Friday ahead of Eid-el-Kabir.
The President will observe Eid-el-Kabir in Lagos, where he will also spend the Sallah holidays.
The President will mark the occasion in prayers and reflection on advancing the transformation of Nigeria in line with his Renewed Hope Agenda.
Chief Ajuri Ngelale
Special Adviser to the President
(Media & Publicity)
The President of the Dangote Group, Alhaji Aliko Dangote, says it is expanding the storage capacity of his refinery by 600 million litres.
This, according to him, will enable the refinery to have a storage capacity of 5.3 billion litres.
The Dangote Petrochemical Refinery refinery currently has 4.78 billion litres of storage capacity for refined petroleum products.
Dangote spoke at the Afreximbank Annual Meetings and AfriCaribbean Trade & Investment Forum in Nassau, The Bahamas on Wednesday.
The billionaire alleged that international oil companies refused to sell crude oil to his refinery because they did not want him to succeed.
Asked to speak on whether or not his refinery would crash the pump price of petrol, which currently sells at around N700 per litre, Dangote gave no affirmative answer, but he quickly recounted how the price of diesel fell from 1,700 to N1,200 when his diesel flooded the market.
“The issue of gasoline is certainly a different issue. That one is being dealt with by the government. But let me give you an example. In the diesel, which the industries, transporters and everybody consume; when we first started, it was N1,700, and the dollar conversion was about N1,200 then. Immediately when we started, within two weeks we brought down the price to N1,000. We took it from N1,700 to N1,200 and from N1,200 to N1,700, we have given more than 60 per cent drop in price.
“With the currency now back up to about N1,500 per dollar, the price is still below N1,200. That’s a big improvement, from N1,700 to N1,200. And the diesel is available, we are not living from hand to mouth anymore,” Dangote replied when asked about a possible petrol price cut.
The business mogul said the refinery would be a strategic reserve for refined products.
“The country doesn’t have strategic reserves in terms of petrol, which is very dangerous. But in our plant now, when you came, we had only 4.78 billion litres of various tankage capacity. But right now we’re adding another 600 million.
“So effectively, as we go forward, the refinery will be the strategic reserve of the country in terms of petroleum products,” he noted.
The Africa’s richest man explained that international oil companies denied him access to their crude because they did not think he could succeed with the 650,000 barrels per day capacity refinery.
“In a system where, for 35 years, people are used to counting good money, and all of a sudden, they see that the days of counting that money have come to an end, you don’t expect them to pray for you. Of course, you expect them to fight back.
“And I think that is the process that we’re now really going through. But the truth is that, yes, the country, the sub-region, and also the continent, of sub-Saharan Africa, need this refinery. So, you expect them to fight through non-supply of crude, non-purchase of the product, but I think it’s all temporary. We’ll get there,” he added.
Dangote has been importing crude oil from the United States to get feedstock for the refinery.
The Kano-born businessman added further that Nigeria has for years been importing dirty fuel into the country.
Dangote asked the Federal Government to enforce regulations stopping the importation of dirty fuels.
According to him, dirty fuels have been responsible for many cases of cancer in Nigeria and Africa.
Speaking of imported fuel, he said, “It is high sulfur, very polluting and also when you look at it, especially in Nigeria, in the past few years, we’ve been having cases of cancer, and most of these cases of cancer have to do with the bad fuel that we’ve been using. So, I will advise even here, you should check the quality of what is being dumped in your region in The Caribbean.”
He spoke further that Nigerian crude oil attracts the most premium, yet the nation imports the dirtiest fuels.
Asked if there is no regulation to check the quality of imported fuel, Dangote reported, “Now there is regulation, so it is upon the regulators to enforce the regulation.”
The PUNCH reports that despite its huge crude oil reserves, Nigeria still depends heavily on imported refined fuel.
But Dangote recently said Nigeria would no longer import any fuel by the time he begins the sale of PMS in the next few weeks.
When fully operational, Dangote disclosed that the refinery would supply cheaper fuel to the Caribbean, saying the price of fuel in that area is expensive.
He planned to set up a terminal in the region to give them access to cheaper energy.
“I don’t know the exact price but I know that the price in the Caribbean in terms of petroleum products is very high. So, we produce it cheaply, we can always bring it here, we can set up a terminal and we will be able to feed their needs.
“We have a bilateral agreement with them and bringing in stuff from there is not more than 18, 20 days maximum. Once we set up a terminal, they will have very cheap oil. They will have cheap energy. By having cheap energy, their economies will grow faster,” he maintained.
Dangote recalled that he was once persuaded by a former Minister of Energy in Saudi Arabia, Khalid Al-Falih, to shelve the idea of building a refinery. However, he said he told the former minister that he did not need his advice.
“Four years ago, I was in Saudi Arabia during the fasting period and I was invited for the breaking of the fast, Dr Falih, who used to be the Minister of Energy invited me to come and break the fast with him and I went there. He just said, ‘Aliko, I heard that you’re planning on building a refinery, what capacity?’ I said 650,000. He kept quiet for a while and said, ‘You know just about 120km from Mecca, we are building one and I think I would like you to go and have a look. We as Saudi Aramco, are facing a lot of challenges and, we are proceeding with it, but my advice to you is not to do it because normally, refineries are built by major oil corporations or sovereign countries.’
“I said, ‘But Your Excellency, unfortunately, we have already started, so I’m not looking for am advice.’ That was really how we continued,” he recounted.
Dangote revealed that both local and international cartels, which he described as “mafia”, made repeated attempts to sabotage the $19bn refinery project located in Lagos.
“Well, I knew that there would be a fight. But I didn’t know that the mafia in oil, they are stronger than the mafia in drugs. I can tell you that. Yes, it’s a fact,” he said.
Dangote, who described himself as a fighter, said they tried all sorts to stop him.
“As a matter of fact during the COVID period, some of the international banks were looking forward to making sure that they push us into default of our loans so that the project will just be dead. And that didn’t happen with the help of banks like Afreximbank,” it was stated.
He explained that he had paid off $2.4bn of the $5.5bn loan for his $19bn Lagos-based refinery.
“We borrowed the money based on our balance sheet. I think we borrowed just over $5.5bn. But we paid also a lot of interest as we went along, because the project was delayed because of a lack of land, also the sand-filling took a long time. Almost five years or so we didn’t do anything.
“We started in 2018. We borrowed that much. We have, of course, paid interest and some principal, about $2.4bn. We’ve done very well. We now have only about $2.7bn left to be paid. So we’ve done very well for a project of that magnitude,” he said.
Dangote generates 1,500MW
Talking about industries being energy independent, Dangote posited the refinery and his other companies are not putting any pressure on the grid, though he suggested that power production should be the business for other people.
“We don’t put pressure on the grid. Like us now, we produce about 1,500 megawatts of power for self-consumption. But if this thing is beneficial and it makes sense, there will be people who will concentrate on actually generating the power so it won’t be part of your cost. There are a lot of people that are doing industrial parks, and I think Afrexim Bank is involved in these parks in terms of funding; that will help. It means that once you come, you are just going to plug and play,” he added.
The PUNCH recalls that operators of modular refineries stated on Sunday that the pump price of Premium Motor Spirit, popularly called petrol, should drop to about N300/litre upon the commencement of massive production by the Dangote Petroleum Refinery and other indigenous producers.
Speaking under the aegis of the Crude Oil Refinery Owners Association of Nigeria, they explained that what happened to the cost of diesel after Dangote started producing it, would happen to petrol prices once it is being produced massively in Nigeria.
“A lot of companies today benefit from the importation of petroleum products at the expense of Nigerians,” the Publicity Secretary of CORAN, Eche Idoko, stated.
He told our correspondent that “if we begin to produce PMS today in large volumes, provided there is adequate crude oil supply, I can assure that we should be able to buy PMS at N300/litre as the pump price.
“Why make Nigerians buy it at almost N700/litre when you know that if you allow refineries to work the price will come down? Is it because you want to satisfy the global refiners abroad that are making so much from us?”
When told that there are arguments that it is not possible to have such a drop in price because crude oil, the raw material for PMS, is priced in dollars, the CORAN official insisted that the petrol price would crash once it is being produced massively by indigenous refiners.
He said, “We were selling diesel for N1,700 to N1,800/litre, but as soon as Dangote refinery started production he brought down the price to N1,200/litre. What other proofs do you need? As I speak to you now there is every tendency that before December diesel prices will drop further. The only reason why diesel is not doing below N1,000/litre is because of our exchange rate.
“If the exchange rate drops, diesel will drop below the N1,000/litre price. Now the exchange rate concern is because Dangote imports crude. If he is not importing, the exchange rate may not have so much effect, though he is still buying crude in dollars (in Nigeria) anyway.”
But oil marketers have repeatedly maintained that even if there would be a reduction in the pump price of petrol, it would be marginal.
On May 18, 2024, The PUNCH reported that Africa’s richest man, Aliko Dangote, stated that following the laid-down plans of the Dangote refinery, Nigeria would no longer need to import petrol starting June this year.
Dangote had also stated that his refinery could meet West Africa’s petrol and diesel needs, as well as the continent’s aviation fuel demand. He spoke at the Africa CEO Forum Annual Summit in Kigali, expressing optimism about transforming Africa’s energy landscape.
“Right now, Nigeria has no cause to import anything apart from gasoline (petrol) and by sometime in June, within the next four or five weeks, Nigeria shouldn’t import anything like gasoline; not one drop of a litre,” the billionaire had declared.
Meanwhile, Dangote said his plan to release premium motor spirit into the market this month will no longer be possible. Dangote said this was due to some minor challenges, stating that the product would be out by July 10 to 15.
“We had a bit of delay, but PMS will start coming out by 10 to 15 of July. But then we want to keep it in the tank to make sure that it settles. So by the third week of July, we’ll be able to come out to take it into the market,” Dangote had said.
The spokesperson of the House of Representatives in the 10th National Assembly, Akin Rotimi, has declared that lawmakers in Nigeria earn ₦600,000 monthly.
He added that it could even be a little less than the ₦600,000 figure, boasting that he could provide his payslip as evidence.
Naija News reports the legislator made the revelation during an interview with TVC on Thursday when he was asked about the recent decision to increase the salary of lawmakers amidst the ongoing hardship in the country.
Confronted with the allegation that the lawmakers don’t have the trust of the people and can’t feel the pain of the masses because they live extravagant lives financed by taxpayers’ money, Rotimi argued that there is a lot of fake news, disinformation and exaggeration about what lawmakers earn.
He added that the House has resolved to take steps against those peddling wrong and exaggerated figures about the earnings of lawmakers in the country.
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Eight months after the Federal Government commenced payment of N35,000, a wage award in addition to N30,000 minimum wage to workers, and urged state governments to replicate it, 15 states are yet to do so while seven paid briefly and stopped.
The wage award was to lessen the burden of economic hardship on the citizenry pending the implementation of a new minimum wage.
The Nigeria Labour Congress, NLC, described the refusal of some states to pay the wage award to their workers as the height of insensitivity, lamenting the suffering workers were going through as a result of the anti-poor policies of the government.
Meanwhile, 15 states are paying sums ranging from N10,000 to N40,000 to their workers as wage awards or salary increments.
States that are not paying include one in the South-East, four in the South-South, three in the North-East, two in the North-Central and five in the North-West.
Meanwhile, states that paid wage awards for one to four months and stopped include Delta, Niger, Plateau, Kaduna, Bauchi and Nasarawa.
On the other hand, states that are paying are Lagos, Edo, Bayelsa, Imo, Enugu, Anambra, Ebonyi, Ondo, Osun, Ogun, Oyo, Ekiti, Kano, Kwara, Cross River and Taraba.
Tinubu’s plea
President Bola Tinubu, in March, during a working visit to Minna, Niger State, urged the 36 state governors to begin payment of wage awards to workers in their states, saying the move will alleviate hardship in the country.
Governors Hyacinth Alia (Benue), Babajide Sanwo-Olu (Lagos) and AbdulRahman AbdulRazaq (Kwara) were among the governors at the event.
Speaking directly to Abdulrazaq, who is chairman of the Nigerian Governors Forum, NGF, Tinubu said: “I have been paying wage awards pending determination of the new minimum wage. Let all the sub-nationals start paying that. The wage award, with whatever they are taking now, will relieve the public. I am not giving an order, I am appealing to you sub-nationals. It’s a relief to the people.”
States not paying
Despite the president’s plea, many states are yet to commence paying wage awards to their workers.
In Delta State, the Commissioner for Information, Dr. Ifeanyi Osuoza said the state government will set up a committee to examine wage-related issues.
He said: “Governor Sheriff Oborevwori said during Workers Day that a committee would be set up to look into it so that, at the end of the day, we can be able to be on the same page with labour and workers; that is the line we are following.”
On whether the committee will look into wage awards in addition to minimum wage, Osuoza said: “Anything that has to do with emoluments for workers, the committee will look at it.”
Rivers and Akwa Ibom governments said they were waiting for an official declaration by the Federal Government on the wage increase while the Delta State government had set up a committee to review workers’ wages.
Governor Umo Eno of Akwa Ibom State assured that his administration will key into the new minimum wage for workers when it comes into force.
“We have directed the compilation of casual workers in the state. We will continue to ensure that we support our workers, and we will continue to do our best to make them happy. We will ensure that we continue to improve our workers’ welfare.
“And on the minimum wage, we will wait for the Federal Government and then we will key into it and come to terms with the minimum wage for Akwa Ibom civil servants,” the governor stated on Workers Day.
The Rivers State Government is also awaiting the outcome of the tripartite negotiations between the Labour, Organised Private Sector, and the Federal Government on minimum wage to determine its next action.
While labour is demanding N250,000 minimum wage, the Federal Government and OPS have offered N62,000. President Tinubu in his Democracy Day broadcast said he will send an executive bill to the National Assembly on the issue soon.
Rivers State Commissioner for Information and Communications, Joseph Johnson, said: “With the robust relationship existing between government and workers in the state, we are only waiting for the outcome of ongoing negotiations between Labour and the Federal Government to do the needful. We will take a position when the parties decide what to pay the workers. We will look at the size of our portfolio and decide on what to do.”
President of Rivers State chapter of the Nigeria Union of Local Government Employees, NULGE, Clifford Paul, told Vanguard that Governor Sim Fubara had approved the payment of N35,000 to workers
He said Fubara announced the approval during a meeting with NULGE leadership and principal officers of the local government councils at the Government House, Port Harcourt.
“The governor also approved immediate implementation of the N35,000 wage award approved by the Federal Government to cushion the effect of the removal of .”
The chair of the NLC in the state, Alex Agwanwor, regretted that the governor had not commenced the implementation because of political distractions.
He said: “The state government has not started the payment but plans have been concluded. The problem we have now is the political unrest in the state. The political distraction in the state is much and I think it is affecting the implementation.
“We are not bothered about that now. It is not our priority now. What the governor is doing for the workers in the state is even more. We cannot assess his performance based on that because he is taking care of the welfare of the workers with a good heart,” he said.
Workers plead with Otti
An Abia, Chairman of the NLC, Okoro Ogbonnaya, pleaded with Governor Alex Otti to approve the payment of the N35, 000 wage awards to mitigate the plights of workers in the face of the biting economic hardship in the country.
In his response, Governor Otti promised to look into the workers’ request and take action very soon.
Kebbi sets up minimum wage committee
In Kebbi State, the state government is yet to begin payment of wage award but the governor on May 1, 2024, set up committee to come up with a sustainable minimum wage for workers.
Borno, Yobe distribute foodstuff, palliatives
Although Borno and Yobe states under the leadership of Governors Babagana Zulum and Mai Buni, were yet to pay wage award to civil servants or pensioners, the two states have procured and distributed food and non-food items to the citizenry, including civil servants and pensioners, all aimed at cushioning the economic hardship.
States that paid partially and stopped
In Niger State, the government is paying N30,000 minimum wage. Governor Muhammed Bago paid the sum of N20,000 as a palliative to workers once and inaugurated a committee under the chairmanship of the state Head of Service, Alhaji Abubakar Salisu to work out acceptable minimum wage and salary structure for workers in the state.
The Katsina State government is among the states where some level of compliance had been achieved regarding the payment of some form of palliatives to workers.
Governor Umaru Radda paid N15,000 twice as wage palliative to state and local government workers in the state. Pensioners also got N10,000 twice. The first award was paid in February and second was paid as Ramadan/Sallah package.
Nasarawa State government paid workers the sum of N10,000 twice as wage award.
At the same time, retired workers have been paid the sum of N5,000 for four months.
In like manner, Bauchi State paid N10,000 to its civil servants during the Sallah celebration and gave out some food items as palliatives at other times.
The Plateau State Government has paid N12,000 as palliative to each of its workers for six months.
States paying wage awards
Edo and Bayelsa states have announced wage increment for civil servants in the two states.
Governor Godwin Obaseki of Edo State, who signaled the surprise package for workers, gave them a shocker on April 29, two days before Workers Day, when he announced a new minimum wage of N70,000.
He said the new scheme would begin in May, and if the negotiated wage between the Federal Government and labour were higher, the government would make necessary adjustments. As he promised, he started paying the 70,000 minimum wage in May. The Bayelsa State government also approved wage awards for its workers.
A breakdown of the wage awards, worked out by a committee headed by the head of the state’s civil service, revealed that workers from Grades 1–14 received N20,000; 15–17 cadre got N30,000 and Permanent Secretaries N100,000.
Confirming the development, chairman of Trade Union Congress, TUC, in Bayelsa, Julius Laye said: “In Bayelsa State, the payment started last month, although those at the local government received about five months, and it stopped.”
Imo raises wages with N10,000
Governor Hope Uzodinma gave Imo workers N10,000, bringing their current minimum wage to N40, 000.
Imo State government also said it has provided free transportation scheme for workers as part of measures to cushion effect of fuel subsidy removal.
Mbah pays N25000, N10,000 in Enugu
In Enugu, Governor Peter Mbah has been paying wage award since December 2023, to the employees of the state government, local government workers and primary school teachers.
For the state civil servants, the state government pays N25,000 to each worker, but pays N10,000 to employees of local governments and primary school teachers.
Speaking on the issue, Chairman of the TUC in the state, Ben Asogwa, said that workers in the state are happy with the payments, which he described as evidence that the governor is committed to workers’ welfare.
Ebonyi workers get N10,000 extra
,In Ebonyi, Governor Francis Nwifuru added N10,000 as wage award to the salaries of civil servants in the State.
Ondo pays N35,000 to workers, N10,000 to pensioners
In Ondo State, the government is paying N35,000 wage award to workers and N10,000 to pensioners.
Chief Press Secretary to the governor, Mr. Ebenezer Adeniyan, said the payment started in October last year.
Adeniyan added that it was supposed to be for three months but the governor extended it, adding that shuttle buses have been provided for workers and schoolchildren across the state by Governor Lucky Aiyedatiwa’s administration.
Osun pays N15,000 to workers, N10,000 to pensioners
In Osun State, the government is paying N15,000 to workers while retirees get N10,000 as wage award. The governor had approved payment of wage award since December 2023, and has been paying the said amount till date.
It’s N10,000 in Ogun
The Ogun State government is paying N10,000 wage award to all categories of workers in the state.
Chairman of the TUC in the state, Mr. Lasisi Akeem, said government has been paying N10,000 transport allowance to all civil servants for the past nine months and N10,000 to pensioners
Akeem added that the state government has paid 40 per cent of the basic salary of workers in the state as Peculiar Allowance, to cushion effect of fuel subsidy removal.
Oyo, Kwara, Anambra workers get boost
In Oyo, the state government pays N25,000 to its workers and N15,000 to pensioners. Governor Seyi Makinde started paying the awards in November 2023.
In addition, the governor also approved payment of 13th month salary to the workers, and released buses to major parts of the state at highly subsidized rates.
Before the six months he promised to pay N25,000 lapsed, he extended the payment of palliatives for another six months making one year.
In Kwara State, civil servants are being paid N10,000 wage award by the state government.
“We are being paid monthly N10,000 wage award by Kwara State government since subsidy removal,” Muritala Olayinka, the NLC chairman, told Vanguard.
In Anambra, Governor Chukwuma Soludo paid N12, 000 for four months between September to December 2023.
Soludo had earlier announced a 10 per cent salary increase, which the state has been paying since January 2023 as part of his response to rising cost of living.
The workers, however, expressed disappointment when the wage increase was stopped at the end of last year. During the last workers’ day celebration on May 1, this year, the state chairman of the Nigeria Labour Congress, NLC, Humphrey Nwafor pleaded with Governor Soludo to re-introduce the wage increase in view of the biting inflation in the country, while waiting for the expected new minimum wage.
Lagos pays N35,000 wage award
In Lagos, workers have been getting N35,000 wage award since December 2023 in addition to N35,000 minimum wage to its workers.
Commissioner for Establishment, Training and Pensions, Afolabi Ayantayo, said the payment is in line with Governor Babajide Sanwo-Olu’s commitment to welfare of workers.
“This is in addition to a three-day work week for Levels 1-13 civil servants, which was introduced this year. This measure aims to provide relief and flexibility reflecting the state government commitment to the workforce’s well-being,” he added.
Kano, Taraba workers get wage awards
The Kano State government has been paying workers N20,000 and pensioners N15,000 as wage awards.
In Taraba, the state government is paying the N30,000 minimum wage, and salary increment of N10,000 to N15,000 to workers.
Governors not paying are insensitive –Labour
Reacting to the development, an official of NLC, who spoke on condition of anonymity since he was not authorised to speak, said: “It is a fact that many state governors are not implementing the wage award which was a product agreement Organised Labour reached with the Federal Government on October 5, 2023. This was a product of the understanding of the huge negative consequences government’s policies had foisted on Nigerian works across the nation. This was supposed to be cascaded down to the states by the governors in a dialogue with NLC and TUC in their respective states.
“Governors that are not complying are mainly those who have continued to demonstrate serious disdain and contempt for the plight of workers who create wealth in their states. It is insensitive for a governor who has adjusted upwards the wages of political appointees in their states to believe that workers do not have the right to have a fair share of the resources of the state.
“It is worthy of note that all the governors are beneficiaries of the increased revenue from FAAC as a result of the hike in the price of PMS which created multiples of revenues to the state treasuries. However, because the welfare of the workers are not prioritized by the governors, they divert them into other projects which sometimes are wasteful.
“It is unfortunate that many Governors have continued to see workers’ salaries as charity which it is not. This has shaped their mindset into believing that salaries are a waste instead of an investment which it should be for the state because when workers are paid well, productivity increases and vice versa.”
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Promises to send Executive Bill to N’Assembly
•Says fall at Eagle Square, is ’idobale’ for democracy
By Johnbosco Agbakwuru, ABUJA
FG’s failure to make fresh offer stalls wage talks
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PRESIDENT Bola Tinubu on Wednesday night said that he would approve what is affordable as the new minimum wage, alerting the National Assembly to expect his memorandum on the final settlement.
President Tinubu, who spoke during the 25th Democracy Day Anniversary Dinner, at the Old Banquet Hall, Presidential Villa, Abuja, said that the amount to be forwarded to the National Assembly would be such that Nigerians can afford it.
Recall that at the end of negotiations on Minimum Wage last week Friday, the Federal Government team alongside the Organised Private Sector, OPS, had slightly increased the offer to N62,000 from the initial N60,000, while the organized labour also reduced its demand from N494,000 to N250,000.
However, the last offer of N62,000 made by the government and the private sector and the demand of N250,000 by the labour are now before the President to perhaps harmonise and make the final approval and thereafter, send a bill to the National Assembly for enactment of law.
Speaking on the matter, President Tinubu told the President of the Senate, Godswill Akpabio alongside his other colleagues at the dinner that the government would do what was expected, but would also pay what it can afford.
He said: “Senate President, Deputy Senate President, you’ll get a notice from me. If I’ve changed my mind on minimum wage, we’re going to do it, what Nigeria can afford, what you can afford, what I can afford. They ask you to cut your coat according to your size, if you have size at all.”
President Tinubu also clarified the circumstances surrounding an incident earlier in the day at Eagle Square, where he tripped while making his way into the parade inspection vehicle.
He explained that as a traditional Yoruba ‘boy’ he was doing dobale (Yoruba word for prostrating to greet elders) at the Eagles Square, saying democracy was worth falling for.
According to him, “June 12 represents the heart and soul of our democratic struggle in the country.
“Early this morning (Wednesday), I had a swagger and it’s on the social media. They are confused about whether I was doing buga or doing babaringa but it is a day to celebrate democracy while doing ‘dobalee’ for today.
“I am additionally Yoruba boy, I did my dobale. Democracy is a day that is worthy of falling for,” he said.
The dinner was attended by five pro-democracy icons, Prof. Bolaji Akinyemi, Chief Segun Osoba, Senator Shehu Sani, George Mbah and the Minister of Solid Minerals, Mr. Dele Alake, who all took to the stage to recall President Tinubu’s role in the struggle that eventually crystallized into what is being celebrated.
President of the senate, Godswill Akpabio; Deputy President of the Senate, Jibrin Barau; Speaker of the House of Representatives, Tajudeen Abbas; Deputy Speaker Benjamin Kalu; Chief Justice of Nigeria, CJN, Olukayode Ariwoola; and the SGF, Senator George Akume, were all present.
Also on ground were the NSA, Nuhu Ribadu; Chief of Staff to the President, Femi Gbajabiamila; and the Wife of the Vice President, Nana Shettima.
At the Goodluck Jonathan Foundation’s annual Democracy Dialogue held in Benin City, Edo State, the 2023 presidential candidate of the Labour Party, Peter Obi, paid tribute to former President Goodluck Jonathan’s sacrifices for Nigeria’s democracy.
The dialogue, themed “Functional Education and Effective Political Leadership as a Panacea to Africa’s Growth and Development,” brought together political leaders and policymakers from across the continent, including Obi and former Kenyan President Uhuru Kenyatta.
In his speech, Obi lauded Jonathan’s commitment to ensuring free and fair elections during his presidency.
“In the history of this fourth Republic, no Nigerian has made the sacrifice you made for this country,” Obi stated.
“You set out to correct one single thing that this country requires: free and fair election.”
Obi also praised Jonathan’s efforts in prioritising education during his tenure by establishing new universities across the country.
“Nobody has contributed again in this Fourth Republic that I know in terms of what you did in education,” he said, stressing the role of education in driving development.
The former Anambra State governor further highlighted Nigeria’s poor rankings in human capital and the Human Development Index.
He stressed the need to invest in education to lift people out of poverty and ensure sustainable growth.
“The crisis we are facing in Nigeria today, especially in the north, are people we abandoned uneducated yesterday and think we can leave them in poverty,” he cautioned.
The Goodluck Jonathan Foundation, established in 2015 focuses on promoting democracy, peace, and transformative change across Africa.
In a related development, Jonathan commended the Edo State Governor, Godwin Obaseki, for prioritising the welfare of civil servants and providing a modern workspace through the inauguration of the Edo State Civil Service Secretariat Complex.
He also lauded Obaseki’s decision to offer automatic employment to first-class graduates, encouraging academic excellence among undergraduates.
Jonathan noted the importance of visionary leadership, stating, “To be a leader, especially a political leader, you must be somebody who has vision. If you have vision, no matter how challenging it is, you will find a way to do well.”
The Naira yesterday depreciated in the parallel market to N1,500 per dollar from N1,485 per dollar on Tuesday.
Similarly, the Naira depreciated to N1,476.24 per dollar in the Nigerian Autonomous Foreign Exchange Market, NAFEM.
Data from FMDQ showed that the indicative exchange rate for NAFEM rose to N1,476.24 per dollar from N1,473.66 per dollar on Tuesday, indicating N2.58 depreciation for the naira.
The volume of dollars traded on the window fell by 76 per cent to $92.68 million from $385.91 million on Tuesday.
Consequently, the margin between the parallel market and NAFEM rates widened to N23.76 per dollar from N11.34 per dollar on Tuesday.
The World Bank has approved two financing facilities of $2.25 billion for Nigeria to support the Federal Government’s efforts to stabilize the economy.
The approval was announced in a statement entitled, “Supporting Nigeria’s Homegrown Reforms: New World Bank Financing for Inclusive Growth and Revenue Diversification”.
The statement said: “The World Bank has today approved two operations: $1.5 billion for the Nigeria Reforms for Economic Stabilization to Enable Transformation, RESET, Development Policy Financing Program, DPF, and $750 million for the Nigeria Accelerating Resource Mobilization Reforms, ARMOR, Program-for-Results, PforR.
“This combined $2.25 billion package provides immediate financial and technical support to Nigeria’s urgent efforts to stabilize the economy and scale up support to the poor and most economically at risk.
“It further supports Nigeria’s ambitious, multi-year effort to raise non-oil revenues and safeguard oil revenues to promote fiscal sustainability and provide sufficient resources to deliver quality public services.
“Confronted with a fragile economic situation, Nigeria recognized the urgency of changing course and embarked on critical reforms to address economic distortions and strengthen the fiscal outlook.
“Initial critical steps to restore macroeconomic stability, boost revenues, and create the conditions to reignite growth and poverty reduction have been taken.
“These include unifying the multiple official exchange rates and fostering a market-determined official rate, as well as sharply adjusting gasoline prices to begin to phase out the costly, regressive, and opaque gasoline subsidy.
“The Central Bank of Nigeria, CBN, has refocused on its core mandate of price stability and is tightening monetary policy including by increasing interest rates, as is appropriate to reduce inflation.
“A targeted cash transfer program is being rolled out to cushion the impact of high inflation on the poor and economically insecure households.”
Wale Edun reacts
Commenting, Minister of Finance and Coordinating Minister of the Economy, Wale Edun, said: “We have embarked on bold and necessary reforms to restore macroeconomic stability and put the country back on a sustainable and inclusive economic growth path that will create quality jobs and economic opportunities for all Nigerians.”
Also commenting, Ousmane Diagana, the World Bank Vice President for Western and Central Africa, said: “We welcome the support of the RESET and ARMOR programs as we further consolidate and implement our macro-fiscal and social protection policy reforms, consistent with accelerating investment and redirecting public resources sustainably to achieve development priorities.
“Nigeria’s concerted efforts to implement far-reaching macro-fiscal reforms place it on a new path which can stabilize its economy and lift its people out of poverty.
“It is critical to sustain the reform momentum and continue to scale up and expand protection to the poor and economically at risk to cushion the effects of cost-of-living pressures on citizens.
“This financing package reinforces the World Bank’s strong partnership with Nigeria, and our support towards reinvigorating its economy and fast-tracking poverty reduction, which can serve as a beacon for Africa.
“The RESET DPF is focused on supporting Nigeria strengthen its economic policy framework by creating fiscal space and protecting the poor and economically insecure.
“The ARMOR PforR will support efforts to implement tax and excise reforms, strengthen tax revenue and customs administrations, and safeguard oil revenues,” the World Bank said.